Lighting up
Lewes
Lewes hosts the biggest bonfire night in the UK, if not in Europe and the small but historic town attracts more than 80,000 people every year. The only time bonfire night is not celebrated on the 5th is if it falls on a Sunday out of respect for the Church. The celebrations include a series of torch lit processions through the town and it is all organised by the local bonfire societies under the auspices of the Lewes Bonfire Council. At the moment there are seven bonfire societies that include: Borough, Cliffe, Commercial Square, Southover, South Street, Waterloo and Nevill Juveniles (a children’s society that holds its celebrations a week or two before November 5th. Each proceeds on their own routes accompanied by a number of other s ocieties from neighbouring towns and villages. Each society has its own traditional costume that range from Tudor dress to Mongol warriors and a number of large effigies are drawn through the streets.
It is one of the most talked about events of the year in Lewes and plans will already be well underway for this year’s bonfire night taking place on Tuesday, November 5th.
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